Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre backstroke

The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place on September 2 at the Olympia Schwimmhalle.[1] There were 36 competitors from 23 nations, with each nation having up to 3 swimmers.[2] The podium was very similar to the previous Games in 1968, with Roland Matthes of East Germany winning gold and the United States taking the other two medals, including one going to Mitch Ivey. Matthes and Ivey were the first two men to earn multiple medals in the event, with Matthes the first to win back-to-back championships and Ivey adding his 1972 bronze to his 1968 silver. Mike Stamm was the silver medalist in Munich. Matthes also defended his 1968 100 metre backstroke title, giving him the backstroke double a second time.[2]

Men's 200 metre backstroke
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Gold medalist Roland Matthes (1970)
VenueOlympia Schwimmhalle
Date2 September (heats, final)
Competitors36 from 23 nations
Winning time2:02.82 =WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Roland Matthes  East Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mike Stamm  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Mitch Ivey  United States
← 1968
1976 →

Background

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This was the fourth appearance of the 200 metre backstroke event. It was first held in 1900. The event did not return until 1964; since then, it has been on the programme at every Summer Games. From 1904 to 1960, a men's 100 metre backstroke was held instead. In 1964, only the 200 metres was held. Beginning in 1968 and ever since, both the 100 and 200 metre versions have been held.[2]

Two of the 8 finalists from the 1968 Games returned: gold medalist Roland Matthes of East Germany and silver medalist Mitch Ivey of the United States. The American team also included Mike Stamm, who had briefly held the world record in the event in 1970 before Matthes broke it in 1970 (and then bettered his own record in 1971 and at the East German Olympic trials in 1972).[2]

Brazil, Cambodia (then Khmer Republic), El Salvador, and Yugoslavia each made their debut in the event. Italy and the Netherlands each made their fourth appearance, the only two nations to have competed at each appearance of the event to that point.

Competition format

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The competition used a two-round (heats and final) format. The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952. A swimmer's place in the heat was not used to determine advancement; instead, the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used. There were 5 heats of up to 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.

This swimming event used backstroke. Because an Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of four lengths of the pool.

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics.

World record   Roland Matthes (GDR) 2:02.8 Leipzig, East Germany 10 July 1972
Olympic record   Roland Matthes (GDR) 2:09.6 Mexico City, Mexico 25 October 1968

Mike Stamm broke the Olympic record with a time of 2:07.51 in the second heat. Roland Matthes broke that record with 2:06.62 in the fifth heat. Matthes's final time of 2:02.82 is considered equal to his prior world record of 2:02.8. In all, six of the finalists beat the old Olympic record set in 1968; four were better than the record set in the heats.

Schedule

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All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Saturday, 2 September 1972 10:35
18:10
Heats
Final

Results

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Heats

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Rank Heat Swimmer Nation Time Notes
1 5 Roland Matthes   East Germany 2:06.62 Q, OR
2 2 Mike Stamm   United States 2:07.51 Q, OR
3 3 Brad Cooper   Australia 2:07.90 Q
4 3 Tim McKee   United States 2:08.19 Q
5 5 Lothar Noack   East Germany 2:08.80 Q
6 4 Mitch Ivey   United States 2:09.32 Q
7 1 Zoltán Verrasztó   Hungary 2:09.89 Q
8 4 Jean-Paul Berjeau   France 2:09.93 Q
9 4 Bob Schoutsen   Netherlands 2:10.56
10 1 Colin Cunningham   Great Britain 2:11.06
11 4 Tadashi Honda   Japan 2:11.11
12 5 Anders Sandberg   Sweden 2:11.36
13 2 Neil Martin   Australia 2:12.09
14 5 Ejvind Pedersen   Denmark 2:12.30
15 1 Bill Kennedy   Canada 2:12.55
16 3 Massimo Nistri   Italy 2:12.85
17 2 Nenad Miloš   Yugoslavia 2:12.99
18 2 Lutz Wanja   East Germany 2:13.46
19 5 Helmut Podolan   Austria 2:13.63
20 4 Róbert Rudolf   Hungary 2:13.64
21 3 José Urueta   Mexico 2:13.85
22 3 Lars Børgesen   Denmark 2:14.50
23 5 Pierre Baehr   France 2:14.65
24 4 John Hawes   Canada 2:15.34
25 1 Rafael Rocha   Mexico 2:15.81
26 4 Norbert Verweyen   West Germany 2:15.94
27 1 Ian MacKenzie   Canada 2:16.36
28 3 Rômulo Arantes Filho   Brazil 2:18.15
29 4 Predrag Miloš   Yugoslavia 2:18.43
30 5 Bruce Featherston   Australia 2:18.63
31 5 Gustavo González   Argentina 2:19.74
32 3 Gerardo Rosario   Philippines 2:23.53
33 2 Sarun Van   Khmer Republic 2:24.42
34 2 Chiang Jin Choon   Malaysia 2:26.51
35 1 Sergio Hasbún   El Salvador 2:27.93
36 1 Mark Crocker   Hong Kong 2:33.64

Final

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Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes
  Roland Matthes   East Germany 2:02.82 =WR
  Mike Stamm   United States 2:04.09
  Mitch Ivey   United States 2:04.33
4 Brad Cooper   Australia 2:06.59
5 Tim McKee   United States 2:07.29
6 Lothar Noack   East Germany 2:08.67
7 Zoltán Verrasztó   Hungary 2:10.09
8 Jean-Paul Berjeau   France 2:11.77

References

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  1. ^ "Swimming at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Backstroke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "200 metres Backstroke, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 July 2021.